Author's Note:

Life is going full bore these days and it's hard to find time to write, but I am going to try to keep momentum. If I don't I fear I would fall behind and lose my groove. Can't do that mid-season, right! It's a lot of fun to write. We are getting deeper into the intrigue of the case, but what danger is left?

I do not own Zootopia, control any of it, have personal ties to any of the creators, etc, etc. I hope to spread the love and joy I have for this movie with each page I write. Have fun reading!

Guardian Blue: Season One

Episode 21: Dessert

Patrol had gone fairly quietly. They had two accident reports to take, a shoplifting report that turned out to be a misplaced box in the back room, and a fight between a brother and sister that resulted in an arrest of both for attacking one another right in front of the police. As the siblings were camels additional officers were sent just because they would not have both fit in Nick and Judy's cruiser. That done, as the later afternoon sun really heated up the streets the pair ducked away into a soup and salad place that was a favorite in this part of the city. Nick enjoyed creamy soups and Judy had a dozen different tasty and unique salads to choose from there. The dark interior and soft, meditation-style music of the place also made it a favorite spot to go to if the day had been stressful, and in some ways it had.

Judy had awakened beside her partner and realized that she might be more emotionally dependent on him than was ideal for her to be, given their differences and the fact that they were work partners. She then had to endure knowing both her parents now were given only more fuel to burn to keep warm the notion that it was even deeper than that. Then the visit with Jack exploding with Nick's building superintendent added a very rich icing on a complicated cake. About that time at least Skye would be getting a chance to have a normal conversation with her perhaps unnecessarily revered actor. It was at least some good to come of the confusing day.

Judy was shaken from her train of thought by Nick's calm voice. "You've hardly touched your salad, Carrots. Still thinking about the knife incident? That stuff usually doesn't get to you so much." She sat up a little bit and put some black-bean salad into her mouth as if just responding to the prompt, like she had somehow messed up the eating of her lunch and was trying to correct it.

She swallowed after a bit and spoke in a hushed tone, always wary about disturbing the meals of others in a restaurant. "No, just digesting the day as I eat my meal. Been a long one, honestly. I'm gonna be real easy to keep track of at the end of our shift, I promise you. I'll be the unmoving little ball of fluff resting wherever I fall." She chuckled at that.

"If you'd be more comfortable on the bed with another door between you and outside I would be fine with that." Nick explained.

Judy took another smaller bite and answered. "No, I'm okay now. It was just the initial act and not having a working door at all. I will have no trouble falling asleep tonight." She followed this up by eating more salad. There was an awkward silence for a bit before Nick spoke up again.

"Your sister followed me on Furbook. I commented on the Munch match video and I guess she looked up my online name that way."

"Verdant-Eye-Sly is probably not the most low-key name, really. Which sister, I have a bunch of 'em." Judy was happy for some casual small talk as she enjoyed her meal. Nick did that frequently if she seemed tired.

Nick replied, "Sammie. She didn't say anything, just followed me. Did you ever figure out what she did with the pillow?" Judy looked up at Nick with her ears back, expression incredulous.

"Nick I don't really have to tell you that do I?" she asked.

"I suppose you do." Nick looked innocent, and only more curious.

Judy smirked and sighed a bit. "Okay, so… I'm pretty sure my sister has a thing for you. I think she wanted the pillow because it smelled like you. Please don't make me explain what that would be for." Nick pulled back a little, seeming a little surprised.

"You think? I don't think she liked me very much, honestly. She went ice cold when she found out about the tax thing. I mean… her body language went right out the window." Nick explained.

"No, I think she did that because she thought I was with you and she didn't want to get in between us, Nick." Judy poked at her salad a bit as she said that. Why couldn't she just have a regular, uneventful friendship?

"Well, she never said anything to me on Furbook, so if she's crushin' she's being way too elusive." He chuckled at that. Judy smirked harder at her partner.

She leaned in after taking her final bite of salad. "Should I try to play match-maker, help the two star-struck sweethearts find one another in the darkness?" Judy teased.

"Err… Sammie's sweet, but no thanks." Nick rubbed the back of his ears with his claws to show a bit of discomfort. Judy put her chin on her hands.

"Aww, just cause she's a soft, cuddowy bunny?" Judy said with a bit of intentionally abrasive baby-talk. She laughed at the idea that the mere suggestion made him squirm when he acted so nonchalant about it when her family suggested he might be dating her pretty openly.

"No, being a bunny doesn't disqualify her; she's a perfectly nice bunny. It's just… I'm super picky, I prefer my bunnies more predatory and sly." Nick stated as he finished off a small bowl of fruit salad he had as a side to his already missing soup. Judy looked up blankly.

"What?" she asked, suddenly a little disoriented. The police radio went off.

"Baker 914, what's your 20?" Nick picked up his radio to respond.

Nick gave their location as he wiped his muzzle with a napkin. Judy looked up at her partner and silently cursed that interruption of the conversation.

Clawhauser's voice rang through the radio, "We have a report of Adam Paul by four in the vicinity of the Double C-P. One requests 10-21 for observation." Nick nodded at that, glancing over to Judy. The report meant that there were four known members of the Alabaster Paw seen in the vicinity of City Center Park. 'One' referred to Chief Bogo, who was requesting that Nick and Judy swing by there, outside of their normal patrol area, to check it out. This meant that the officers patrolling that area were elsewise tied up dealing with something.

"They normally don't run around together." Judy pointed out, but Nick got up suddenly, almost knocking his drink over. It startled Judy. "What's wrong?" she asked.

He huffed out, "City Center Park. That's where…"

"Jack and Skye!" Judy jumped up too. She ran over to the counter and dropped two twenties, leaving an unusually large tip but they had to move. The partners were out the door and in their cruiser in a second. They were rolling silent but were not rolling slow. Judy gunned the engine as they headed for the highway. Nick called on his cell to get in contact with Clawhauser, telling him to be ready to have other nearby units on standby, informing him that there may be a threat to a VIP known to be in the park. Clawhauser had two other units change channels and put them on standby, already en route to the park.

"Surely they are not dumb enough to try that again in a well-lit public place?" Nick growled. Judy took an off-ramp a little earlier than usual, meaning to come in from the back of the park, suspecting that if they had grabbed Jack again they would more likely exit that way. They did not encounter anything suspicious as they pulled up to the two long thin parking lots that flanked the east side of the park. Both got out of the car and moved into the park. Nick had his Taser on his hip, a little bulky for a fox, and Judy was still armed with her tranq gun. Neither had weapons drawn. There were likely children here and until a threat was obvious they did not want to cause concern.

Judy and Nick walked together under the long shadows cast by the late afternoon trees. The park was not small, and they were not sure where Jack would be, or if they were even still at the park at all. The fox and bunny covered a pretty big swath of the park, but they didn't see either Nick's superintendent or the actor anywhere. They finally took a post at a fairly middle-ground location in the park that gave them a good view all around, as best they could with the trees and a few booths used for vendors and the like. It was a simple picnic table among a bunch of others in the middle of the park.

"I guess they already left." Judy said with a sigh. She hoped that was it, and it was not more a case that something happened to them, but she, like Nick, could not believe they'd have tried something in a place like this. There were families and kids everywhere, playing, running, throwing Frisbees and the like. The calls would be immediate and the police department was literally across the street from this park location.

"You don't suppose Jack stood her up, do you?" Nick asked, dream obvious in his voice. That would be a dark day for both foxes.

"Surely not. He is notoriously level with his fans." Judy explained. They sat quietly a while, ruminating on that as the park continued to be just that. A park. It was peaceful and Judy thought she'd have enjoyed being here if they were not so concerned about everything that had been going on. While the immediate danger they faced had passed they were still tracking mammals from the same group that had attacked Nick's apartment.

Nick leaned back a bit, watching around. "I don't see any sign of the Adam Pauls either. I should probably call in to Clawhauser and let him know to stand down the other patrols. If they were here they aren't now. We've had full visual in the time we've been here."

"And yet you still missed us!" came a bright and cheery voice from behind, making Nick and Judy both jump. Skye and Jack stood behind them. Skye was in jeans and a body-hugging low-cut navy t-shirt and Jack was in the same jeans and black shirt from before. They had food in their hands. They both sat at the table with Nick and Judy.

"Don't sneak up on us, we were here on duty!" Nick complained.

"On duty trying to find out what we were up to?" Skye asked shrewdly, "I should complain about police harassment." She put her food down, a simple tuna-salad sandwich from the look of it, with chopped celery and mayo and black pepper. Judy twitched a bit, reminded of her own tuna mistake a few days earlier.

"No, we were observing as required by our boss, this patrol is legitimate." Nick said with an official tone.

"Who's Adam Paul?" asked Jack. Judy rolled her eyes. Of course the other rabbit heard that. It was confidential police business so they really could not explain it to a civilian, espially with the investigation still ongoing.

Nick was on point with an alternative explanation though. "It's police code, Jack, it means Active Perp. Some shady folks are nabbing things that aren't theirs, of course. We use code like that in case folks have police scanners. How did you guys find us if we didn't see you?" asked the fox.

Jack answered with a grin. "Oh! That's actually pretty cool! We were getting food in line over there." He nodded to a booth. It was surrounded by elephants. They were there setting up for Trunkapalooza. Judy nodded at that. Of course they could not see the smaller mammals in that group. "We saw you and decided to find out what you were up to, since it was awwwfully suspicious given that you were the only other ones who knew we were here." He crossed his arms.

"Crap, I forgot the drinks at the booth." Skye grumbled. "I'll be right back, don't eat my stuff." She said in a teasing tone to Jack. He laughed as she bolted off to get their drinks.

Nick regarded Jack a moment and then spoke. "You two seem to be having a nice afternoon. I apologize for our patrol overlapping and interrupting it. We will be moving again shortly." Jack took a bite of what was apparently some kind of veggie burrito.

"We are, actually. I'm glad I let you tal me into this. She's all about fun. We've joined in some Frisbee, we did the rock climb thing at the north end, harnesses and all, and she's mellow about the whole fan thing. Treats me like a buddy. It's refreshing." He then paused and looked up at the smug fox, "… and I will thank you for not reading weird things into that. It's just been a fun meeting. So thanks for that. And Judy it's nice seeing you out of that sling and not the victim of some terrible prank." He nodded to the other bunny.

Judy rolled her eyes. "I earned that one actually, so don't feel too sorry for me." She laughed. "He'd never have survived that if I hadn't earned it." Jack laughed at Judy's clarification and shook his head.

"I'm tempted to have my writers work on a series about a couple of cops who spend their shifts pranking each other. That would sell the hell out of some ad revenue!" he slapped his thigh, laughing.

Nick grinned with heavier smugness at that and then replied in a smooth voice, "Well, to be realistic, only one officer would be successful in their pranks." He flicked one of Judy's ears.

Judy took a playful swipe at her partner, missing by a fair distance. "Hey! I've gotten you just fine. I just don't have the kit-ish drive to do it to death!" Judy felt suddenly light-hearted and happy. This was much better. It wasn't tense, they were on the job, and things felt back to normal.

Nick grinned broadly, "Oh-ho, I hustled you the day I met you and you've never gotten reprisal, so there's that."

"What, the popsicle? You think I can't get that cash back out of you?" Judy put a hand on her hip, ears back as she smirked back at him. Jack looked back and forth between them, appearing pretty entertained.

Nick answered with a flourish, "You are fleet of foot but less of wit. It would take a lot of both to make me pay, Carrots." Jack recoiled a little and seemed a bit shocked at the nickname, but he didn't have time to say anything about it as Judy deadpanned then picked up Skye's tuna salad sandwich. Nick widened his eyes, confused. "What are you-" he started to ask. Judy took a huge bite of the sandwich and then placed it back on the table.

"Holy-" Jack murmured, stunned. Nick's eyes were as wide as they would go. His ears pinned back as Judy chewed quickly and forced down the truthfully unwanted bite. She already knew it wasn't gonna kill her, and it was worth it for what she knew was coming. Besides, with the mayo and celery and pepper the taste of the tuna was almost indistinguishable. She was about to see who was not so fleet of wit.

"Judy why did you…" Nick was then distracted from his personal shock by another fox's arrival. He looked in horror at Skye, then her sandwich with the almost too-big-for-a-bunny bite taken out of it.

Skye spoke quickly, a little breathlessly. "Sorry about that, they had to pour new ones, someone walked off with our-" Skye looked down at the table. Judy innocently played with her phone, glancing over with expressionless mirth at her partner's doomed face. Nick predictably looked shocked and horrified and, as a result, guilty. Skye narrowed her blue eyes. "Oh hell no," the vixen growled. She gestured to Nick. "Why?! I was gone like… a minute! What… But… What?!"

Nick stood up quickly as Skye put the drinks down to free up her fists. The red fox pointed hastily to the grey doe who looked up innocently from her phone. Skye narrowed her eyes and stepped closer to Nick, baring her teeth as she slowly got closer. Nick whined loudly. "It wasn't me!" he said with conviction useless to a known con-artist.

"Are you serious? The bunny? Ate my tuna sandwich?" She pointed at Judy.

"Smell her breath if you don't believe me!" Nick exclaimed anxiously.

"Fell for sniffing before, I will let you two keep some secrets, thank you very much!" Judy furrowed her brow. What was that supposed to mean. She looked over at Jack who could blow this wide open and he looked transfixed at the vixen who seemed about to pummel Nick. Judy's partner closed his eyes and sighed resolutely. He thrust a hand into his back pocket, took out his wallet, and handed a crisp 20 to the vixen. She eyed it suspiciously and then crushed it in her hand.

"It can't be worth more than that!" Judy watched Nick step back again. She wondered if maybe she went too far. It was so spur of the moment.

Skye sighed and nodded to the sandwich. "Go on, finish the sandwich, but then you are gonna go over there and get me another one, Wilde. I can't believe you," the vixen sighed, shaking her head. Nick audibly whined as he looked at the sandwich with a huge bite missing from it. Judy frowned. Her partner just ate, he probably wasn't hungry.

"I'll pass." Nick stated in a meek tone.

"Eat the sandwich." Skye growled. "You are not gonna just waste it."

"I don't eat fish." Nick said bluntly, looking very unhappy. Judy widened her eyes. She forgot, he had said that when they were in Bunnyburrow. She couldn't let Skye force him to eat the sandwich. She bunny looked uneasily between a horrified looking Nick and a furious Skye. Yeah, Nick was right. She hadn't thought the prank through well enough. She'd have to get him later. For now…

"It's okay, Nick. You're off the hook." Judy picked up the sandwich and while she didn't really want to, she took another large bite. Skye watched incredulously. She watched with quietly stunned curiosity as the doe swallowed the bite down.

Skye finally managed some words. "Whuh? But why? Really? Jack, did she…?" The vixen flailed a bit. Jack, eyes wide, nodded also. "Why didn't you say something?"

Jack answered hastily. "What, and cross the scary carnivorous bunny? Nope. Not over a sandwich." Skye looked at Judy plaintively.

"Why?" the vixen asked again.

Jack answered instead. "Seems she and Nick were in disagreement as to whether Judy could get the money out of Nick that he cost her the first time he… how did he say… hustled her? Wilde was kinda rubbin' her nose in it and... well… That's her response." Jack took a sip of his soda and another bite of his food.

Skye looked blankly at Jack through his explanation, then looked at an apologetic-looking Judy. "Wait… You ate my tuna sandwich to knock Wilde's smug down?"

Judy nodded slowly at that and said, "I'll go get you another. I'm sorry, Skye." Skye stood there quietly a moment, looking at Nick and Judy, expressionless. She then chuckled. Then she chuckled louder. Then she drew some stares from others in the park as her knees nearly buckled and she wailed with laughter. Judy laughed a little self-consciously, looking around and then at Jack who was laughing as well, though not as boisterously.

The vixen finally got herself under control and handed Judy the cash Nick had given her and she picked up her sandwich, taking a bite, apparently not minding eating after the bunny.

Judy still intended to replace her purloined sandwich. "I will be right back!" the doe said, getting up to go to the booth.

"No, no, it's fine, don't. You keep that. You earned it!" Skye laughed, taking another bite of her sandwich. Jack was still laughing and Nick still looked stunned and horrified, ears back, hands down.

He finally spoke. "My god. I just got hustled. I never saw it coming." The red fox put a hand over the top of his muzzle, seeming to reflect on that in stunned silence a bit. Judy looked around the park nervously as Skye started to laugh all over again, almost choking on her food, and she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. A wiry goat running through the park ran right over a sheep picnic with a mother and three lambs and snatched a radio that they were listening to.

Judy cried out loudly, startling everyone. "Nick! Theft! Tan goat, 9 o'clock!" She immediately jumped up and bolted. Nick was right behind her as evidenced by the sound of his claws hitting the sidewalk, but she heard the more distant footfalls of Jack and Skye who were following for some reason too. They were civilians, they shouldn't do that, but Judy was more focused on the cloven feet tapping pavement less speedily than she was running. He was making for the edge of the park to the cluster of shops. If he went into one of the stores he might be able to elude her and escape.

"Judy, sweeping 9!" Nick's call meant that he would pass her on the left to flank their suspect. It occurred to Judy again that this was a pack-hunting technique. It was even taught that way at the academy. Nick passed her as she intentionally slowed a little for the maneuver, and the goat was driven toward an alleyway, away from the doors of a shop so as to prevent him from darting inside. Nick outran him as his fatigued and untrained legs slowed, and he stopped to try to take another direction just before the alley which he discovered would have been a dead-end, but a bunny colliding deliberately and forcefully sent him hard to the pavement inside the alleyway itself, skidding to a halt in front of one of the rows of large trash bins. He cried out as Judy quickly put cuffs on him. The radio he had was still playing where it lay a few more feet in front of him. As Judy looked up from the radio to the end of the alley, she spotted four mammals jumping over a wooden fence at the end. Four mammals had been the report for the suspicious activity they were there to observe. Nick arrived and helped Judy get the goat to his feet as he resisted only slightly. He was caught and he knew it but he didn't have to be happy about it.

"Scuffed up a little, but in one piece. This one's lucky," the fox stated.

"That bunny's crazy!" the goat bleated.

Judy used her radio and called in for a suspect pick up.

"He'll fit in our cruiser." Nick informed helpfully.

Judy shook her head. "I know, but we aren't done investigating here, our times four just left." She said in a hushed tone. As Nick nodded, eyes wider in understanding, Skye and Jack both arrived, both quite out of breath.

"Okay… so you two are fit, got it." Jack puffed. "Short legs… No excuse. Work out more. On the list."

"You're a civilian. You can't join in a chase." Judy scolded.

"Hey is that-" started the goat.

"Right to remain silent…" Nick began his Miranda, cutting him off.

"I just ran 'cause everyone else ran. Had to chase. Felt natural. Oh man…" Skye leaned forward, panting heavily as Nick calmly read the suspect his rights and informed him that his charge would be theft but that the chase was short enough that he'd be spared the eluding charge. Judy knew that was more a poke at the panting pair who did not likely share in the opinion that it was a short chase, but she grinned, not minding that. While neither were really out of shape, running did not appear to be their thing.

As Jack caught his breath a little he said, "Hey… would it be alright if Skye and I took the radio back to the family it got nicked from?" Judy looked with uncertainty at Nick.

"I think that's alright, we have to wait for Fangmeyer to get here, so that'll get them taken care of faster. Judy witnessed it so we don't need a written statement, just their names for the record. Could you get that?" he asked, handing Skye a little notebook and his pen. She seemed suddenly revitalized.

"Sure, we could do that!" She beamed a bit and picked up the radio off the ground, now playing a very upbeat and appropriate tune as it was taken back to its rightful owners. The alternate bunny and fox duo left Judy and Nick in the alley with the goat. The goat exercised his right to remain silent as he seemed to feel awful for getting caught stealing in front of a celebrity.

Judy spoke in a hushed tone, "The Chief will flip when he sees in the report that we let civilians handle reclaimed stolen property."

"Fangmeyer's pulling up." Nick said, helping the goat out of the alley. "And it was to get them out of the alley so we can investigate. They don't need to know what we were observing." Nick was sparing on the details as he spoke but Judy understood. Nick didn't want Jack to realize that the Alabaster Paw was in the area, it would only unnecessarily rattle him and make him think he was being followed by the police when he really wasn't. Nick explained as briefly as he could to the tiger officer why they needed pick up and why they were staying and let Fangmeyer take their suspect to the precinct.

"Do you think they were just hanging out in the alley or were they running from us?" Nick asked as they looked around, behind some crates, in an overturned box, just trying to find anything that might have been ditched by the panicked subjects. They had no way to really know that they were even Alabaster Paw other than the fact that they ran.

Judy answered as she looked in one of the trash cans, finding it empty. "I don't know… For all we know it could have just been some kids smoking, I just know there were four and they went over the fence as we came into the alley. So we might have just spooked them, but I wanted to at least be sure." Judy looked in another trash can.

"This one's empty." Nick said, looking in another, making his way toward the back of the alley.

"This one too." Judy replied. "Shops get evening pickup to keep trash-pickers from hanging out after dark." As she looked in another, Jack and Skye returned. Judy looked up curiously. She had honestly figured they would take longer to enjoy the act of giving back the stolen property. It hadn't been that long. Nick had just opened a tall recycle bin almost bigger than he was and turned and grinned at the returning pair.

"Were you able to return the radio?" he asked, likely knowing they would not already be back if they hadn't.

"Yep!" jack said brightly. "I used a few pages from your notebook for autographs, I hope you don't mind. They were pretty stoked to have a familiar face bring it back." He seemed very encouraged by that, which made Judy feel better as she worried that the whole fiasco could have led to a complaint. Instead, the striped lapine and lady fox seemed to have really enjoyed the diversion. Jack looked back and forth between Nick and Judy. "What are you looking for? Do you think he stashed something else?" As they were a little behind in the chase they had not seen how far the goat got into the alley so it was a fair question.

"Yeah, but we think it's clean. Thanks for taking the radio back. That was a more pleasant experience for the family, I agree. They will see it as a positive experience and not a negative one because of you two." Nick wiped his paws on his trousers as Skye crossed her arms and leaned against the wall at the edge of the alley, having cooled down and caught her breath it seemed.

"I have to admit, I had reservations, Wilde, but you and Judy are an awesome team. You've got just the right setup. Good catch. I get why you never shut up about her." She grinned. Nick looked suddenly less smug. Judy's eyes widened a bit. Nick talked about her a lot? Her heart felt light, and her ears blazed as she perked them high. Really?

Jack grinned and walked up to Nick. "Wow, and here I was thinking I totally misunderstood the whole deal!" Judy looked back to Skye to see if she'd volunteer more of an explanation. What had Nick said? Won't shut up about her meant he said a lot. Had he complained? It didn't sound like it. Jack continued to talk as he gave Nick a tap to the shoulder. "I can't deny that bunnies are sublime but as a fox I think you should know, that is not a standard bunny doe." Judy rolled her eyes, knowing immediately what Jack meant, and that he was teasing. It was not really an insult. She was not the rounded, sweet, motherly sort that society expected her to be. Skye squeaked out in surprise however and Judy turned to find that Nick had perhaps considered it more of an attack on his partner. He had Jack upside down over the huge recycle bin, ready to pitch him in. Jack's hands were outstretched, clamped on the edges, resisting being forced in.

"Wilde! Put him down!" Skye yelped, darting over to aid the other rabbit.

"Ice cream! Ice cream! No no no!" cried the striped lapine, still holding the edges tightly. Judy folded her ears back thinking that was a weird thing to say in a panic, but she went to get Nick to put him down. Nick laughed softly and put Jack back on his feet, making it obvious he wasn't really going to throw the rabbit away. Jack smoothed his shirt a bit and Skye scooped him up protectively. The striped bunny laughed a bit to make sure Skye knew that he didn't feel threatened by the fox.

"What was that about ice cream?" Nick asked, looking confused about that as much as Judy had been.

"The bin. I didn't know if Wilde knew it, but it's half full of containers of melting ice cream, all flavors. If I had been tossed in there I'd have become a Neapolitan disaster!" He tucked his shirt in again as Skye doted over him, helping him get his shirt impeccably straight again. Judy smiled a bit as she found that the other rabbit did not seem to mind it and this was making the vixen rather happy. She was acting very much like a friend and not a fan.

Nick looked into the bin and folded his ears back. "Wow. It is. It's got at least like... twenty gallons of ice cream. The containers aren't even marked, like they were from a restaurant or something. It's not been in the bin long, it's still partially frozen." Judy hopped up enough to see inside the bin. There were over a dozen simple brown cardboard containers of ice cream with no labels sitting in the bottom slowly oozing their contents as they had been haphazardly chucked in there.

"That's weird…" Judy stated. "Who throws away just… a bunch of ice cream like that?" She hopped back down. Nick shrugged.

"I dunno. Maybe it went bad. Glad I didn't actually toss you right on in," he laughed at Jack. The actor laughed back, seeming not to be offended by the playful behavior, and Judy watched as he took Skye's hand. Skye looked down at it and folded her scarlet-tinted ears back tight, walking along out of the alleyway with the other rabbit. Judy smirked a bit. Skye had absolutely no reason to be mad at Nick anymore, so Judy supposed her 'home' with him was safe for the time being.

Nick seemed to notice as well and leaned back, not following after them. "You two don't go too crazy at the pubs and the like around here," he said, "We're still on duty and have a report to write back at the precinct. See you around!" Judy stood by her partner. The officers watched as the other two returned to the park to collect their drinks and clean up from where they left their food behind in the chase.

"Thank you for helping with that, Nick," Judy finally said.

"I didn't do anything, I just made sure not to prevent it. Jack's helpless against how awesome foxes are." The red vulpine grinned. Judy punched him in the arm, making him yelp.

"Awesomely tender, you loaf!" Judy barked back. Nick rubbed his arm briskly and laughed. He shook his head.

"Seriously though, fluff, I doubt it's anything serious, those two. Very different worlds and Jack's great for letting her have a chance to hang out and have fun. I doubt Skye's looking for more than the chance she got to just… not be a complete disaster in front of him." Judy walked along with Nick as they headed back to the cruiser.

"What, you think they can't be closer friends? Because Skye's a fox?" Judy asked, thinking it was odd for Nick to feel that way.

"No, because Jack's an actor and I think Skye would need more singular attention than a guy in his position could provide." Nick stated matter-o-factly.

"I don't know," Judy stated as they arrived at the car, "I think Skye's pretty independent. I guess the tabloids would make her unhappy though." Judy sighed as she considered the reality of it. "A shame, they're kinda cute together."

Nick got into the car and shook his head as Judy got into the driver's seat. "There you go, Carrots, you get to use that word all willy-nilly, and I get slugged for accidentally letting it slip." The doe laughed at him for the observation.

"It's got a little different connotation when regarding something like that, Slick." She smirked as she turned on the engine. "So… What have you been telling your building superintendent about me?"

Nick suddenly looked alarmed. "Oh no." he said in a fearful tone.

"Oh no? That bad?" Judy asked, folding her ears back. Nick looked back pitifully.

"Skye stole my favorite pen."